University of Bern

About: University of Bern is a education organization based out in Bern, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 35422 authors who have published 79413 publications receiving 3125088 citations. The organization is also known as: Bern University & UNIBE.

Viable neutrophils release mitochondrial DNA to form neutrophil extracellular traps

Abstract: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) represent extracellular structures able to bind and kill microorganisms. It is believed that they are generated by neutrophils undergoing cell death, allowing these dying or dead cells to kill microbes. We show that, following priming with granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and subsequent short-term toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) or complement factor 5a (C5a) receptor stimulation, viable neutrophils are able to generate NETs. Strikingly, NETs formed by living cells contain mitochondrial, but no nuclear, DNA. Pharmacological or genetic approaches to block reactive oxygen species (ROS) production suggested that NET formation is ROS dependent. Moreover, neutrophil populations stimulated with GM-CSF and C5a showed increased survival compared with resting neutrophils, which did not generate NETs. In conclusion, mitochondrial DNA release by neutrophils and NET formation do not require neutrophil death and do also not limit the lifespan of these cells.

A survey of MRI-based medical image analysis for brain tumor studies

Abstract: MRI-based medical image analysis for brain tumor studies is gaining attention in recent times due to an increased need for efficient and objective evaluation of large amounts of data. While the pioneering approaches applying automated methods for the analysis of brain tumor images date back almost two decades, the current methods are becoming more mature and coming closer to routine clinical application. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview by giving a brief introduction to brain tumors and imaging of brain tumors first. Then, we review the state of the art in segmentation, registration and modeling related to tumor-bearing brain images with a focus on gliomas. The objective in the segmentation is outlining the tumor including its sub-compartments and surrounding tissues, while the main challenge in registration and modeling is the handling of morphological changes caused by the tumor. The qualities of different approaches are discussed with a focus on methods that can be applied on standard clinical imaging protocols. Finally, a critical assessment of the current state is performed and future developments and trends are addressed, giving special attention to recent developments in radiological tumor assessment guidelines.

Risk of infectious complications in patients taking glucocorticosteroids.

Abstract: The association between corticosteroid therapy and subsequent infections was calculated by pooling data from 71 controlled clinical trials. The overall rate of infectious complications was 12.7% in the 2,111 patients randomly allocated to systemic corticosteroids and 8.0% in the 2,087 controls (relative risk [RR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.9; P less than .001). The risk of infection was particularly high in patients with neurologic diseases (RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.9-4.3; P less than .001) and less pronounced in patients with intestinal (RR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7; P = .02), hepatic (RR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.9-2.3; P = .25), and renal (RR greater than 1; P = .03) diseases. The rate was not increased in patients given a daily dose of less than 10 mg or a cumulative dose of less than 700 mg of prednisone. With increasing doses the rate of occurrence of infectious complications increased in patients given corticosteroids as well as in patients given placebo, a finding suggesting that not only the corticosteroid but also the underlying disease state account for the steroid-associated infectious complications observed in clinical practice.

Systematic review of the survival rate and the incidence of biological, technical, and aesthetic complications of single crowns on implants reported in longitudinal studies with a mean follow-up of 5 years

Abstract: Objective To assess the 5-year survival of implant-supported single crowns (SCs) and to describe the incidence of biological, technical, and aesthetic complications. The focused question was: What is the survival rate of implants supporting single crowns and implant-supported crowns with a mean follow-up of 5 years and to which extent do biological, technical, and aesthetic complications occur? Methods A Medline search (2006–2011) was performed for clinical studies focusing on implant-supported SCs with a mean follow-up of at least 5 years. The search was complemented by an additional hand search and the inclusion of 24 studies from a previous systematic review (Jung et al. 2008a). Survival and complication rates were analyzed using random-effects Poisson's regression models to obtain summary estimates of 5- and 10-year proportions. Results Forty-six studies derived from an initial search count of 1083 titles and the complementary publications from the previous systematic review (Jung et al. 2008a) were selected and the data were extracted. Based on the meta-analysis, survival of implants supporting SCs at 5 years amounted to 97.2% (95% CI: 96.3–97.9%), and at 10 years amounted to 95.2% (95% CI: 91.8–97.2%). The survival of implant-supported SCs was 96.3% (95% CI: 94.2–97.6%) after 5 years and 89.4% (95% CI: 82.8–93.6%) after 10 years. For biological complications, a 5-year cumulative soft tissue complication rate of 7.1% (95% CI: 4.4–11.3%) and a cumulative complication rate for implants with bone loss >2 mm of 5.2% (95% CI: 3.1–8.6%) were calculated. Technical complications reached a cumulative incidence of 8.8% (95% CI: 5.1–15.0%) for screw-loosening, 4.1% (95% CI: 2.2–7.5%) for loss of retention, and 3.5% (95% CI: 2.4–5.2%) for fracture of the veneering material after 5 years. The cumulative 5-year aesthetic complication rate amounted to 7.1% (95% CI: 3.6–13.6%). Conclusions The outcomes of the meta-analysis demonstrated high implant survival rates for both the single tooth implants and the respective single crowns after 5 and 10 years. However, technical, biological, and aesthetic complications were frequent.

Profex: a graphical user interface for the Rietveld refinement program BGMN.

Abstract: Profex is a graphical user interface for the Rietveld refinement program BGMN. Its interface focuses on preserving BGMN's powerful and flexible scripting features by giving direct access to BGMN input files. Very efficient workflows for single or batch refinements are achieved by managing refinement control files and structure files, by providing dialogues and shortcuts for many operations, by performing operations in the background, and by providing import filters for CIF and XML crystal structure files. Refinement results can be easily exported for further processing. State-of-the-art graphical export of diffraction patterns to pixel and vector graphics formats allows the creation of publication-quality graphs with minimum effort. Profex reads and converts a variety of proprietary raw data formats and is thus largely instrument independent. Profex and BGMN are available under an open-source license for Windows, Linux and OS X operating systems.